Former Temple coach Cardoza among two UConn assistant hires

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Former Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza is returning to a former job as an assistant to Geno Auriemma at UConn.

The school announced Thursday that Cardoza and current UConn video coordinator Ben Kantor will be added as coaches under NCAA legislation that went into effect July 1. It allows the addition of two new assistants to college basketball programs.

In posting for the position, Connecticut indicated candidate qualifications include 10 or more years of head coaching experience in a Division I program and coaching in NCAA Division I national championship games. Preferred qualifications included coaching on a national championship team.

Cardoza was an assistant at UConn from 1994-2008, helping lead the Huskies to five of its 11 national titles.

She was the head coach at Temple for 14 seasons before being fired in 2022, compiling a record of 230–163, with seven 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

“UConn is where I gained my foundation as a coach,” she said in a statement. “I’m thrilled for this opportunity to come back home to where it all started. I look toward to working alongside people who I consider my family.”

Auriemma said Cardoza will be working with UConn's perimeter players.

Kantor has been on UConn’s staff since 2015 as a video coordinator. He filled in as an assistant coach under the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver when members of the coaching staff tested positive for the virus during the pandemic.

“I’ve learned so much from the coaching staff in my time in Storrs, and it’s an honor to now be a member of it," he said in a statement.

___

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25